SEPTEMBER
WARMER AND DRIER THAN AVERAGE ACROSS U.S.,
WARMEST SEPTEMBER GLOBALLY SINCE BEGINNING OF RELIABLE INSTRUMENTS

Oct.
13, 2005 — The United States experienced its fourth
warmest September on record, while global land surface temperatures
were the warmest on record for the month, according to scientists at
the NOAA National Climatic
Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Also, three East Coast states had
their driest September on record, while the month was the eleventh driest
for the nation overall. (Click NOAA image for larger view of
September 2005 temperature rankings by state. Please credit “NOAA.”)

U.S.
TemperaturesNOAA reported the average temperature
for the United States for September (based on preliminary data) was
2.6 degrees F (1.4 degrees C) above the mean for 1895-2004. This was
the fourth warmest September on record, with only the West Coast and
parts of the Rockies remaining near average. Louisiana had its warmest
September in 111 years of national records and an additional 27 states
ranked much above average. Some cities also set new records for warmest
average September temperatures including: Houston-Galveston, Texas;
London, Ky.; Shreveport, La.; and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. A record daily
maximum of 107 degrees also was recorded in San Angelo, Texas, September
25, equaling the old September record set in 1952.

July-September
average temperatures also were the fourth warmest on record, indicative
of an unusually warm late summer and early fall across the country.
All 48 contiguous states ranked above average for the last three months,
with six states (Florida, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode
Island and Vermont) setting new statewide average temperature records
for July-September. Overall, the Northeast region had its warmest July-September
period in at least 111 years.

Temperatures
across Alaska also were above average during July-September, with respective
statewide temperatures of 2.3 degrees F (1.3 degrees C) and 2.2 degrees
F (1.2 degrees C) above the 1971-2000 mean, ranking 12th for September
and second warmest for July-September since 1918.

U.S.
Precipitation
U.S. precipitation was below average during September, with unusually
dry conditions for much of the East Coast and parts of the Plains and
Northwest. Georgia, South Carolina and Maryland had their driest September
on record. Some selected cities that received record low September precipitation
included: Washington, D.C.; Macon, Ga.; Columbia, S.C.; College Station,
Texas; and Tampa, Fla. Serious drought continued across the Northwest
and parts of the western Plains and Rockies. Areas west of Lake Michigan,
namely northern Illinois, were also experiencing severe drought.

At the
end of September, moderate-to-extreme drought (as defined by a widely-used
measure of drought—the Palmer
Drought Index) affected 18 percent of U.S., an increase of almost
6 percent from August 2005. The U.S. wildfire season through September
30 is approximately double the 10-year average acreage burned. More
than 8 million acres have burned so far in 2005, approaching the record
annual acreage burned, which occurred in 2000.

So far,
tropical cyclone activity for the 2005 Atlantic season has been well
above average with 20 named storms, 11 of which became hurricanes and
five were classified as major. The hurricane season officially ends
on November 30. There has been only one other season with 20 or more
named tropical systems, which was 1933 with 21.

Globe:
The average global temperature anomaly for combined land and ocean surfaces
for September (based on preliminary data) was 1.13 degrees F (0.63 degrees
C) above the 1880-2004 long-term mean. This was the warmest September
since 1880, the beginning of reliable instrumental records. The second
warmest September was in 2003 with an anomaly of 1.02 degrees F (0.57
degrees C) above the mean. Land surface temperatures were highest on
record for September with temperatures more than 5 degrees F (2.8 degrees
C) above normal across large parts of Asia and North America. Ocean
temperatures were third highest on record. El
Niño Southern Oscillation conditions remained neutral in
the tropical Pacific Ocean at month's end.

NOAA,
an agency of the U.S. Department
of Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national
safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related
events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal
and marine resources.